Adjustable rack



Dec. 30, 1958 l. BYRNE 2,8

ADJUSTABLE RACK Filed June 23, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Irma Byrne MMJW - ATTORNEY Dec. 30, 1958 BYRNE ADJUSTABLE RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed June 25, 1955 Irma Mia; KW

ATTORNEY United States Patent ADJUSTABLE RACK 'Irnia Byrne, De Bary,Fla.

Application June 23, 1955, Serial No. 517,477

4 Claims. Cl. 211-35) This invention relates to racks for supportingarticles of various types in convenient placeson the wall or a closetdoor.

Many different kinds of wall racks for storing articles have been usedin the past, but none have been found to have the adjustability andversatility coupled with the simplicity of the present invention.

The main object of this invention is to provide a simple, readilyadjustable wall rack, which is adaptable for holding articles ranging insize from a large shoe down to a collar button.

Another object is to make a simple, adjustable and easily assembled shoerack comprising a stiff sheet with horizontal rows of spaced verticalslits and a ribbon of flexible material threaded through each row ofslits to form loops on the front of the sheet for holding shoes, theends of the ribbons being tied together in the back of the sheet.

Another object is to adapt the above defined construction to articles'ofdifferent sizes and types as may be required, by proper spacing of theslits, varying the width and type of the ribbon, and the correspondingdimensions of the slits to accommodate the ribbon.

Another object is to use a ribbon in the abovementioned constructionprovided with pucker strings along both sides so that pockets may beformed from any one or more of the ribbon loops by drawing thecorresponding portions of the lower pucker string taut across the spacebetween the corresponding slits to close the lower edge of the ribbonagainst the sheet forming the bottom of the pocket.

Another object is to tack adjacent loops of ribbon together to preventpossible shifting of the empty loops when articles are hung in theadjacent loops.

Another object is to use a ribbon material which is more flexible in itsaxial direction than crosswise.

Another object is to make the width of the slits substantially the sameas the ribbon thickness so as to provide sufiicient friction between theribbon and the slits to prevent the ribbon from accidentally shiftingafter the loops are properly adjusted for size.

Other and more specific objects will appear in the following detaileddescription of some forms that the present invention might take forpurposes of illustration, having reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein:

Fig. 1 illustrates a shoe rack for six pairs of shoes, with convenientmeans for fastening it to a wall or door,

Fig. 2 shows the back of the rack and the ends of the ribbons with tiestrips attached to them,

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a portion of the stiff sheet with onerow of slits,

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of a rack using ribbon withpucker strings, showing how pockets may be formed from some of theloops,

Fig. 7 shows the back of the rack using the pucker strings extendingfrom the ends of the ribbon to form the tie between the ends,

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 6,

Fig. 9 illustrates the use of another type of ribbon which is stiffer ina crosswise direction and is held in slots of substantially the samewidth as its thickness, whereby to prevent accidental slippage of theribbon loops without requiring tacking between loops, and Fig. 10 showsthe detail structure and weave of the ribbon which may be decorative aswell as useful.

The present invention contemplates the making of standard kits of sheetswith the required ribbons with instructions for easy assembly to suitthe requirements of the user. Several different sizes of sheets andarrangement and size of slits may be made for different requirements.The sheets and ribbons may be made in matching pastel colors and ofdecorative materials.

The sheets and ribbons may be sold separately so that the customer maychoose his own combinations of mate-- rials and colors to suit his owntastes or color schemes. Obviously, for shoes, a wide band or ribbon ismore suitable in order to provide a shield for protection of any clothesthat might be hung adjacently to the rack, as' in a clothes closet whenthe rack is hung on the door which closes against some of the hangingclothes. On the other hand, for tools, .a narrow ribbon is usually moreconvenient. For some purposes an elastic ribbon might be preferable.

The present invention is adaptable to all requirements and a fewdifferent standard forms of sheets with a relatively few differentstandard forms of ribbon will provide a suflicient number of differentsuitable and decorative combinations to meet the requirements of a widerange of hanger uses, whether it be in the closet, the kitchen, theworkshop, garage, store, office, laboratory, or just a display room.

By way of illustration of the simplicity and versatility of the rackmade in accordance with the present invention, a six-pair shoe rack isshown in Fig. l comprising the stiff sheet material 10, having threehorizontal rows of eight vertical slits 11 each, spaced as shown, with aribbon 12 threaded through each row of slits to form loops 13 and havingits ends tied in the back of the rack as shown in Fig. 2, by a pair ofstrips 14 fixed to the ends of the ribbon at the corners 14'. v g

In order to adjust the adjacent pairs of loops in accordance with thesize of the shoes, the adjacent loops of the pairs may be tackedtogether as at 15 by a couple of stitches or staples to preventaccidental slippage of loops when one of the pairs of shoes is hung upand the other loops are vacant. The fixing of the loops may not benecessary if the ribbon material and the width; of the slitsis'substantially the same, and sufficient friction is maintainedtherebetween after assembly and adjustment to prevent such slippage.

The ribbon material illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10 is particularlyadaptable for the above purpose, as well as being decorative. Thisribbon 16 is made of reed material 17 which is comparatively stiff, withbands of colored thread 18, woven alternately over and under the reeds,thus providing good flexibility axially of the ribbon. The ribbon isbound around the edges with a flexible strip material 19, the sidestrips 20 being extended be yond the ends of the ribbon to form the tiepieces. This ribbon may be made to fit snugly in the slits, so as toprovide sufiicient friction to prevent slipping of the loops to which itmay be adjusted upon assembly.

This type of ribbon is adaptable for use without tie strips, since thebinding strip material 19 may be made with a weakened centerline so thatany individual reed may be readily pushed through the binding to form astiff projection 30 from the edge of the ribbon, and two suchprojections on opposite edges of the ribbon could form stops back of theslits to prevent slippage of the ribbon after adjustment of the loops.This method of fixing the'lo'ops obviates'the'need for'the tie stripsand tacking means: To'facilitate thismetli'od, the reed at one. end ofeachribbon may be made longer thanfthe rest, sofas to project from bothedges and format readymad'e stop for the trailing endof the ribbon as itis threaded th'rongh the row of slits. The other stops may then beformed as described'aboveafter properadjustment of the desired loops.

The pueker type of ribbon121 and its uses are illustrated'in Figs. 6to8. Thepucker strings 22" are passed. through" casings 23 formed alongthe sides of the ribbon, and ext'c'ndout of the ends of the ribbonsufficiently to form the ties 24 at the back of the rack as shown inFig'. 7. The lower string may be drawn tight between slits asshown at 25to pucker up the lower edge of the 'ribbon snugly against the surface ofthe sheet 10 and thus form a pocket 26 with a wide opening at the top,or the uppper string may also be drawn slightly to partiallypucker upthe-upper edge of the ribbon and make the opening, at the top of thepocket more or less restricted, allowing the middle of the ribbon toflare outwardly to form a bulging pocket 27 if desired. After properadjustment of the strings they may be tacked or stapled on theback ofthe sheet between slits to prevent slippage.

These puckerstrings may be made elastic if required or more suitable forsome purposes.

The ribbons themselves may be made of elastic material when such ispreferred.

By a suitable choice of colors in these materials, many attractivecombinations of useful and convenient racks.

with each standard set or kit for assembly and mounting.

by the purchaser, or may be sold separately, providing a choice ofdifferent types of mountings.

Many obvious modifications in form and construction of the parts, notshown, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A make-it-yourself wall rack for holding articles comprising a stiffsheet having rows of vertical slits spaced horizontally therein, aflexed ribbon of suitable length adapted to be threaded through each rowof slits,

so as to form loops on the front of said sheet between each pair ofadjacent slits, the ends of said ribbon having means for tying togetherin the back of said sheet after adjustment of the ribbon between all thepairs of slits in the row to form loops of the desired size, said ribbonbeing made of comparatively stiff reeds crosswise of the ribbon withbands of colored threads woven alternately over and under adjacentreeds, said ribbon being bound around the edges by strips of flexiblematerial with the ends of the side strips extendedbeyond the ends of theribbon to form ties at the backof the rack.

2. A make-it-yourself wall rack for holding articles comprising a stiffsheet having rows of vertical slits spaced horizontally therein,a'flexed ribbon of suitable length. adapted to-be threaded through eachrow of slits, so as to form loops on the front of said sheet be tweeneach pair of adjacent slits, the ends of said ribbon having means fortying together in the back of said sheet after adjustment of the ribbonbetween all the pairs of slits in the row to form loops of the desiredsize, said ribbon having a pucker string passed through headings formedin eachside of the ribbon and extending beyond the ends of the ribbon toform the ties, one or more of said loops being formed into a pocket bydrawing. up the lowerpucker string taut acrossthe space betweenwtheslits to bring the lower puckered up edge of said loop tight against thefront of said sheet, said string being stapled to the backof the sheetbetween slits'to keep it taut.-

3. A rack as. defined in claim 2, the upper edge of one or more of saidpockets being partly puckered up by drawingthe upper-string to restrictthe opening in the top of the pocket and provide a-bulging pocket.

4. A wall rack for holding articles comprising'a stiff sheet having.rows. of vertical slits spaced horizontally therein,. an axiallyflexible ribbon threaded thru each row of slits -to formarticle holdingloops onthe front of.

said sheet and made of comparatively stiff reeds cross-- wise of .saidribbon substantially the length of said slits with bands of threadswoven alternately over andunder adjacent reeds, said ribbon being boundaround the edges with readily puncturable strips of flexible material,said loops beingheld in any adjustedposition by at least two adjacentneeds which may be partially pushed through opposite edge bindings atthe back of the sheet after adjustment of the loopsto prevent slippageof the ribbon through said slits.

